Tcelia made her way down to the beach. She wanted to get the braiding over with since it had been bothering her for so long. She had shut Neteyam and Kiri down when they had offered to keep her company – she needed to be alone for a while to process the entire week.
She placed herself at the water's edge and wetted her hair, then she started the long process by unbraiding each braid individually. She had done it so often now that she didn't even have to focus on it anymore.
She started by taking out the braids in which she wore her beads and stones. They were all gifts from friends, and they were very dear to her. She hummed to herself as she worked, carefully placing the beads in a large shell she had found that sat in the sand beside her. The warmth of the sun hit her back, warming her, and a content feeling settled over her.
She thought back to when she had woken up that morning. Neteyam and Jake had been whispering softly and when she had glanced over, she had seen Neteyam shoving away his cummerbund, under his mat.
She had realized with a start that it had been a while since he had worn it – it wasn't customary Metkayina clothing. She thought back to the day he had gotten it – the day he had truly become one of the people and would no longer be viewed as a child.
The Dream Hunt is no joke. Some Na'vi that go through it, don't come back the same, and some don't even come back. She remembered how worried she had been for him; she had barely slept the whole week leading up to the ceremony.
Before the ceremony he had asked her to paint his body. Her! It is customary for the Omatikaya to choose someone they cherish a lot, to help get them ready for the ritual. It is a great honor to be chosen and he had wanted her.
She remembered how she had dragged the white paint in long strokes over his body with trembling hands, "I hate that I cannot be there for you," She had sighed as she was finishing up his upper back. She moved to his front so that she could begin painting his chest.
"At least I get to be there for yours," Neteyam replied coyly. He had barely breathed as she swept her fingers over his chest.
"I guess," She frowned, "I just hate thinking of you in pain."
"I will be in pain either way," Neteyam stated bluntly but shut up quickly as Tcelia had sent him a deadly look. He had chuckled and continued watching her paint swirls on his body in the dim light.
After she had finished, everything had moved quickly. Suddenly she had found herself standing at the base of Hometree, Lo'ak, Kiri and Tuk gathered around her, with no recollection of how she had gotten there.
They were speaking in low voices, but Tcelia had barely registered what was being said; she kept zoning out, thinking about Neteyam. She caught herself biting her nails multiple times out of worry and she had had to force herself to lean against a root, placing her hands behind her so that she would stop.
When Neteyam had finally appeared, she had let out a breath of relief and squeezed her eyes shut, thanking their Great Mother. When she saw him being swarmed by the clan, she had pushed Lo'ak, Kiri and Tuk towards him and they had taken off, eager to congratulate him.
She had let them go before her – she wanted the family to have a moment together and she didn't want to intrude on something so precious. She had watched the family rejoicing from afar, leaning up against the tree root.
Soon they were completely blocked from her view, Na'vi forming to create the last part of the ritual. She had dislodged herself from the root and begun to make her way to the last row of Na'vi when 'Ukxo had come up to her side.
"Can you believe that that will be us soon?" he had murmured into her ear as he placed his hands on the Na'vi's shoulders in front of him.
She had shot him a grin, imitating his actions, holding on to the Na'vi in front of her, "Do not get ahead of yourself, skxawng," she nudged him with her hip, "We have not even claimed our ikran yet."
They had watched as all Na'vi held onto each other's shoulders, forming a circle around Neteyam, connecting them all to him, signifying that he had become one with the people. Tcelia's heart had almost burst with pride. She caught glimpses of Jake and Neytiri, who looked as proud as Tcelia felt.
As the Na'vi had broken apart, giving Neteyam space, Tcelia had wanted to join the Sully family so that she too could congratulate Neteyam, but 'Ukxo had taken a hold of her, "Give them some more time," he told her, nodding towards the family who were wrapped up in their pride for Neteyam, "Let us wait on the sideline, and you can go to him after."
Tcelia swallowed. He was probably right – Neteyam completing the ritual was a big deal, she did not wish to impose. 'Ukxo had taken her to the tree root she had been leaning up against earlier and engaged her in conversation.
'Ukxo and Tcelia had grown close over the last four years – they were around the same age and were going through the qualifications to become hunters together, along with Lo'ak. Ukxo had even been Tcelia's first kiss when the two of them had hunted a Hexapede together one or two years ago. They had not gotten together afterwards but they had shared the occasional kiss now and then, up until Tcelia had to end it. She had realized that 'Ukxo had genuine feelings for her and Tcelia did not reciprocate them – as much as she had wanted to.
He had been mad and hurt for a few months and Tcelia had sulked around, missing her friend. Neteyam had noticed and asked what was wrong and Tcelia had spilled her secret, telling him what was bothering her.
Neteyam hadn't exactly been overjoyed to hear about her kissing 'Ukxo, and they had gotten into a huge argument when she had told him that it had been going on for the better part of the year. She couldn't understand why he had been mad at her, and she wasn't sure if even Neteyam knew why he had been so mad at her either– it wasn't frowned upon or even uncommon for young Na'vi to take a liking to each other.
So, for two whole weeks, Tcelia had been down two of her best friends. She had spent a lot of time with Lo'ak in that period, but she made sure not to tell him why Neteyam, 'Ukxo and her were mad at each other – she didn't want to risk Lo'ak getting angry with her too.
'Ukxo had been the first to approach Tcelia and apologize to her for lashing out, telling her it was completely fair that she did not share his feelings for her. They had become friends again and shortly after, Neteyam had apologized to her as well. However, he had become cold when it came to 'Ukxo, who he had joked with and even considered a friend - he was one of Tcelia's and Lo'ak's best friends after all - before he had found out what had happened.
Tcelia thought that he was overreacting a great deal. Neteyam had always been very overprotective of her but that didn't mean he had to shun 'Ukxo completely. After all, it had been Tcelia who had hurt 'Ukxo, not the opposite. But Neteyam refused to listen to reason any time she had tried to explain, and it only resulted in them getting into arguments. Soon, she learned to only mention 'Ukxo around Neteyam when there was no other way around it.
No one else besides Neteyam, knew that something had happened between her and 'Ukxo and she wanted to keep it that way – Tcelia and 'Ukxo had agreed that it would be for the best not to share that particular part of their lives with anyone.
She laughed at something 'Ukxo had said as she leaned against the tree root, waiting for her chance to speak to Neteyam. Slowly the Omatikaya tribe had disappeared off to sleep and she had pushed 'Ukxo towards the spiral upwards when he had begun yawning frequently.
"Just go," she smiled at him, "I will be fine."
He had left her reluctantly and soon after almost everyone else were gone. Lo'ak, Kiri and Tuk had come over to her a little while ago and asked her if she wanted to join them - they were going to bed. She had declined politely, explaining that she wanted to congratulate Neteyam first.
Neytiri, Jake and Neteyam were standing in the middle of the tree's base, chatting.
She swallowed hard and began making her way towards them. Neytiri and Jake spotted her approaching first and shot each other knowing looks. Jake patted Neteyam on his back and Neytiri touched his cheek affectionately one last time then smiled at Tcelia. They left as Neteyam turned to look at Tcelia who was still making her way towards him. She grinned, signing I see you. He returned the greeting, a bashful smile tugging on his lips.
When she saw Neteyam smiling back at her, the small self-control she had managed to pull together as Neytiri and Jake had been there, shattered and she felt herself break into a run, jumping into Neteyam's open arms. He twirled her around once before putting her down and resting his forehead against hers. They were both smiling brightly.
"I was so worried," Tcelia breathed, removing her head from his, but still holding on to him tightly.
Neteyam chuckled, "You did not believe I would make it?" he accused in a joking tone.
She broke free from him, pushing him away gently with her hands, "Of course I did, Teyam," she used the nickname she had given him when they were smaller – she couldn't pronounce his name properly until she had turned four (Neytiri had also been Tiri for the first part of Tcelia's life).
"But I am still allowed to worry about you," she reasoned.
She turned her attention to his lower chest. He was already wearing the cummerbund – it represented the beginning of manhood, that he had become one of the people. Once again, the feeling of pride consumed her.
She could feel Neteyam's eyes on her as she reached out and dragged her fingers along the leathery belt, her little finger accidentally brushing against his skin below it. She felt Neteyam inhale sharply, and she looked up to meet his gaze. She grinned up at him apologetically - she had always had very cold hands.
His eyes were bright as he looked at her but slowly, they had turned troubled as he studied her face.
"What is it?" she asked, removing her hands from his belt and placing them down by her side.
He looked at her for a second before answering, as if mulling over the best way to bring up the subject he wanted to discuss, "Why did you not meet me here? With my siblings, after the ritual?" It wasn't an accusation, but genuine confusion... and a little disappointment? She immediately felt bad for not having been there.
"I just wanted to give your family some space to celebrate and then 'Ukxo suggested that-" she realized her mistake just as Neteyam's eyes turned cold.
He took a step back, nodding his head and squeezing his lips into a tight line, his braids swinging back and forth, "Right. 'Ukxo," he turned away from her, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration, "I saw you laughing with him before, over there," he pointed vaguely towards where Tcelia had stood with 'Ukxo as she had waited to approach Neteyam.
Tcelia stepped forwards, reaching for his hand, "Please, let us not talk about him," she urged, squeezing his hand, "I do not want to argue with you now," she stepped in front of him, desperately willing him to look at her, "Please Neteyam. This is supposed to be a happy moment," she pleaded. She could not understand why he was reacting like this but she should have known better than to bring 'Ukxo up.
They looked at each other, silence stretching into what felt like hours but probably hadn't been longer than five seconds, before his eyes softened and he sighed, "Fine," he placed his hand on her cheek, "You are right. I am sorry for overreacting."
"It is already forgotten," she smiled at him, retracing a paint line she had painted on his hand earlier, "Now, tell me what you saw during the Dream Hunt!"
Tcelia smiled at the memory of her calling Neteyam for Teyam. She hadn't used that nickname for him since the sky people had returned. That name was reserved for a younger and more innocent girl. A girl who hadn't made her first kill yet, who hadn't grown up way too quickly in the face of war, who hadn't fled her home. She had left the security of childhood behind when the sky people had returned and with that, she had left the little girl she had been behind as well.
Tcelia coughed, surprised at herself. Her thoughts hadn't meant to turn that dark. She shook her head to clear it and focused on her hair. She had almost finished unbraiding them all, the dark curls tickling her neck and upper back.
She had been slightly envious of Tsireya's hair when she had seen the girl for the first time. She had always loved having her hair free, but after she had become a hunter, she had chosen to braid her entire hair so that she wouldn't have to think about it as often. It was just easier that way.
She got up from her seating position and waded into the water. She dove under the waves, welcoming the coolness and energy that the ocean provided her with. She surfaced, slowly rubbing out the grime from her hair. She could vaguely hear the village life in the background, and she smiled to herself as she realized how lucky they had been to be accepted here.
A shadow fell over her, shielding Tcelia from the sun, "Do you want a hand?"